Forbidden White Tulip
by Awol Verisimilitude Truth
Summary: It's 2046. The world has changed greatly. Love and affection is illegal and the courts makes decisions based only on opinions. Nobody knows why these changes where made. Natalya meets a man that she hasn't seen since she was young and is finding herself making decisions she never thought she'd have to make. (Belarus X Netherlands! I don't know what possessed me to write this XD)
1. Memories

_**2046**_

_Love_ is a topic that's not spoken of, not written of, and not talked about. The topic of love is in fact of all things _taboo_.

The heels of Natalya's shoes clicked softly against the clean tile floor of the court hall. She looked down at her blurry reflections in the tiles. Holding a court order paper crumpled up in her fist.

Any affection shown in public, private, or any other given way is forbidden. Against the law, with the acceptation of a married couple. The affection that can be shown between married couples must be private.

Natalya's eyes skimmed the wooden large doorways that lined each side of the large hall. Few people walked past, none of which she would ask where she was. But she continued her search for the right courtroom on her own.

At any social event, (Even if it is a family gathering) You are still unable to show affection. On this note the government has every house under tight watch.

She bit her bottom lip. Glancing over her shoulder she looked at the doors she had just barely past. _ Courtroom fourteen, _she repeatedly thought to herself. _Courtroom fourteen._

If you arecaught, or accused of showing affection in public if you are a married couple. Or in public or private if you are anything other than a married couple you will _have_ to attend a court session. If you do not show up for your court session you will be tracked down and thrown in jail for life.

Natalya huffed her frustration. Biting on her bottom lip harder. She stopped at a turn. On the corner of the wall was a small sign that read _Court Room 7-14. _She sighed with relief and turned the corner, walking quicker than she was before.

The court system has changed. In court now there doesn't have to be any proof or evidence, and if the people at trial provide evidence it will be 'thrown away'.

The way the trial rules out is based only on opinion. The opinions of all the people that know the person or people at trail and the judge's opinion are the only opinions taken in a trail.

If enough people disagree or simply do not like the person or people at trial the person or people will receive a penalty. Or punishment of sorts. The judge decides the punishment or penalty. Penalties and punishments range from a day in prison to a life in prison, home arrest, state service, or even death. If enough people think the person or people are innocent or favor them. The person or people will go free with out a warning or penalties.

Natalya headed down to the end of the hall. She swept her blonde hair behind her shoulders quickly and stood straight as she advanced to the door with a _14_ above it, poising her lips and tilting her head up.

No one is sure why this law, and change in court where made but no one really questions it. Everyone accepts it and carries on with their lives with these new changes.

Natalya wasn't the one at trial. She had gotten a letter in the mail asking her to attend a trial for some man. She couldn't remember his name off the top of her head and didn't know she even knew him. But she must if she was being called into court. She actually wasn't going to come in the first place but deicide to go after her sister started asking her to help out around the house.

She opened the large wooden door a crack. She took a breath in and walked in. Few people looked her way as she came in and took a spot among the others. She was sitting next to a man with brown shaggy hair and a smile. He also had a Spanish accent. He was engaged in a conversation with a man with long straight blond hair, that used the world 'like' too much.

Everyone looked up as the back door in the room opened with a creak. Out stepped a man, a policeman behind. He had his hands behind his back in cuffs. Looking up to his face her heart pounded quicker. Natalya then remembered when she had met this man.

She had been nine, and he had been about fourteen or fifteen. He had smiled at her as she had stopped in front of his house. She had been looking at a garden filled with bright colorful tulips. She remembered having asked him if they were his, he had nodded and snapped one of the pink tulips off it's long stem and had walked over and gave it to her. Holding out his hand, smiling down at her. She had taken it happily, smiling back. He had made her smile. He had in fact given her one of the first gifts she had ever gotten.

He looked almost exactly the same, just older, and tougher, slightly scarier, and more handsome. His hair was up and spiked, unlike it had been when she had met him. And his eyes were the same captivating brilliant bright green that she found herself unable to look away from. He wore a blue-stripped scarf, and Natalya noticed a small scare over his right eye. He scowled at the crowed, his eyes narrowing.

Natalya stared. The thought coming to her after a few seconds, that this man had done something illegal.


	2. Court

Natalya lay in her bed, curled on her side facing the wall, rerunning the events that happened in the court that morning in her head like a movie.

It had all been quite hectic, a lot of shouting out, mumbling, and shushing from the judge. Natalya had sat there through most of it dumbly, absorbing it all in as if she wasn't actually there and everything was all a dream.

The man's name was Abel, he had said something about the name but Natalya couldn't remember at all. She had been too distracted. She had a name for the face now.

The judge had stood. He had read an account that had been written by someone claiming the man. Hm, excuse me, Abel, of theft.

The shaggy haired Spanish man had lost his smile, and had glared at Abel. So did the man that said 'like' too much. The entire aura of everyone in the courtroom seemed to change. Everyone seemed as if they were ready to argue at others comments or claims, defending or accusing the man of his actions. But everything was silent. It had made Natalya's gut feel twisted as if it were tied in loose knots.

Then came the first shout, from a girl in the front of the room. Same hair color same eye color but younger looking. Relatives Natalya had guess. The girl's voice had seemed helplessly panicked. As if she couldn't hide any of her emotions. She had cried out in his defense. Claiming that he hadn't stolen a thing.

Natalya at the time didn't know really anything about this man, all she knew is that Abel had given her something that she had kept till her older sister had forced her to get rid of it. No petals and wilted. She treasured it though. She had cried after she had thrown it away. A childish thing to do but she can remember the aching feeling she had day's after it was long gone, it had brought her simple happiness. It had reminded her that there were good people in the world still.

Even at the age of nine she had known that the world was a growing place of darkness that was getting darker and darker. Crueler and Crueler. Getting further away from a civilized humanity. Death could be legal if people favored the murderer over his crime.

'He stole things and then sold them!' a male voice barked at the girl from the other end of the room. Then all hell broke loose. One shout after another, defending, accusing, defending, and accusing.

Natalya thought back to her feelings, he had shone her hope in humanity. Now he was at court? The boy that made her happy… Now a man of crime? She didn't know what to believe. If all of this could be just a lie. A lie to get rid of someone hated by many. Or if he really had committed theft.

She looked back and forth from the people shouting out, some cussing and targeting others. She then looked to the judge. Who she could tell was listening to every comment. Every… Opinion. It sent sickly cold chills down done her spine.

So this is how it all worked? This was it. His fate in the hands of the people that decided to show up and argue with anyone that claimed against what they thought. A sickly decision would be made if the people defending him gave in to the accusing, or if they had nothing to say to keep their defense strong.

A Verbal War…

She sat there, her head aching. This was too much for her. Shouts and threats meant to make the other side of the decision… The argument. Shied away. Give in… Surrender.

Then it clicked in her head. This man… Abel. Might have committed a crime but he had shone compassion before. What side would she chose? To send this man to his death or give an opinion that she didn't deserve to say. An opinion based on a less than a minute encounter.

She swallowed hard. This man had compassion in him. She found her gut twisting, her ears ringing with furious shouts. And her heart pounding faster and faster. . .

She had to…

Natalya opened her mouth, Her throat felt tight. "He didn't do it!" She chocked out quietly. She didn't know if what she said was a lie or not.

"Liar!" Hissed the long blonde haired man toward her. He was probably the only one that heard her choked defense. His green eyes burned holes into her, she felt her heart race, she felt her throat tighten even more, her chest throbbed.

"H-he didn't!" She snapped, her voice still choked but not as strangled sounding as before and louder. She saw glances from others around her and caught the eyes of the judge. Cold and narrowed. She shuddered and hoped that no one noticed. She swallowed.

"He didn't do such things!" She managed to add loudly. The judge's eyes stayed on her for a second longer and then went to an accuser.

Everything after that was blurred in her memory, she couldn't remember everything she had said. But she had then joined in to the defense of the man. Arguing with the accusing. Though she didn't know what she was saying. She still didn't know if everything she said was the truth or a lie.

She turned onto her other side, taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly. She had been part of the sickly dispute. The sick way of choosing someone's fate, someone future. She felt sickly for joining in… Her chest felt hallow with the thought.

In the end the judge had silenced everyone. People sat down glaring at one another. She found herself glaring at a man that had snapped at everything she said. The judge had then cleared his throat and stood. All eyes turned toward him.

"He is free." His scratchy voice had said sternly.

There had been silence, and the Judge had got up and walked out of the room through the back door. The cop had then unlocked the cuffs around Abel's wrist. Able had yanked his hands away glaring at the officer coldly.

The silence continued…

Natalya closed her eyes. She didn't want to think of the event any more. She didn't want to think of how many people might have died because other people thought badly of them. She didn't want to think of any of that. She wanted to forget…


	3. Escaping

Natalya Had fallen asleep quite quickly after that...

Ever so blissful black nothingness welcomed her.

She never remembered any dreams she had. frankly she believed she didn't have any. When she fell asleep it was to her feelings that there only was the unconsciousness.

She would always think of how people say that they felt as if they had only gotten a few minutes of sleep when they had actually gotten a few hours.

She didn't have any feeling of how long she had slept. If it was long or shot. A few hours, or a couple of minutes. She couldn't really comprehend how time went by in sleep, if it felt fast or slow to her.

She would often think about this and how it was harder to put it in words then it was to just experience what she met every single night from when she first fell asleep to when she woke up. It would be an explanation for itself, no words needed.

Despite all of this she didn't really care if she didn't have any perception of how long she was sleep, how long she was away from everything. In the blackness of sleep that's all it really is. She didn't exist in this blackness. The world didn't exist. Nothing. It was a welcoming feeling. As if everything, every problem, every feeling, every single question she had about the darkening world and government were completely gone.

Nothing.

No thoughts, just plain nothingness, which is hard to imagine really.

But the point is she looked forward to this nothingness. When she woke sometimes she wished that someday she would meet this nothingness and never return. Return to reality. Her life was getting more and more complicated, and so was the world.

The world was getting more confusing as well. Having Natalya questioning every new law or action the government made.

Natalya woke after she had felt the heart quickening falling feeling. That's the only part she didn't enjoy of sleeping. She lay with her arms tucked to her chest, staring at the ceiling wide eyed, her heart speeding. And with that another day began for her.

Natalya walked down the snow-covered street. _Winter. _She grasped a grocery bag to her chest. Her older sister had made her get their weekly groceries, which she had not-so-willingly did. She breathed out shakily, her breath coming out in an icy cloud and vanishing. She was eager to get home.

She glanced from building to building as she walked silently. In the windows most curtains where drawn closed. Some of the windows had pots, which maybe had once held a flower, but were only filled with snow now. As she looked her eyes caught a window. The curtains where open and a pot with a single yellow tulip sat on a table in front of the window, and behind the table was the man. Abel? She still couldn't remember his name. He looked down, catching her eyes. She looked away. Holding the bag tighter, closer to her chest. She walked faster. She had that feeling that you get when you are being watched. She bit her lip.

She wasn't scared or freaked out, but she didn't want to see him. Why? Because he just brought up thoughts that she didn't want to have. Such as what happens when all the people at a persons hearing accuse the person of being guilty? Even if they where innocent? Would they just _die_? Be sent to their _deaths_?

A chill ran down her spine as she thought of that. She knew the answer but didn't want to think of it.

Suddenly someone bumped into her side. She looked over sharply about to make a snide comment but held back when she saw a long haired brunet with stunning green eyes and a flower in her hair smiling brightly at her.

"I am telling you a joke that is very funny."

Natalya glared. "What?" She snapped.

"Please." Hissed the brunet, her eyes filled with anxiety and her smile gone. "You think it's funny right? You should be laughing." She said and smiled again.

Natalya narrowed her eyes, more confused. From the corner of her eyes she saw a tall police officer quickly walking from behind a building onto the street, looking around. She then caught on.

She faked a laugh, smiling back at the brunet, and slipping one of her arms out from under her grocery bag, she then linked her arm with the brunets.

She didn't know what this girl, well women, had done but knew that she was trying to get away from that police officer.

The police officer looked on their direction. The brunet gave another small laugh. 'Thanks." She then said smiling.

The officer continued to watch. Natalya nodded. Smiling. "So how have you been?" She asked pretending to have a casual conversation.

The brunet shrugged. "Fine. Work has been hard lately."

Natalya nodded slightly. "Yeah same for me."

The officer looked away, and then quickly continued in the opposite direction of the street. The brunet let out a quiet sigh. Natalya unlinked her arm with the brunet's.

From across the street a man stepped out from behind a building, he had unnaturally white hair and crimson eyes. He smiled when he saw the brunet. The brunet looked over at him, smiling back, she then looked back at Natalya. "Thanks!" the brunet exclaimed, she gave a small little salute with her hand. "I might see you again sometime!" With that the brunet ran across the streets towards the man with white hair. Natalya watched as they quickly walked together to the back of the building heading possibly to the street behind the building.

She stared, taking in what had just happened and processing it in her brain. She would keep this to herself.

She would keep the fact that she just helped someone, wait two people escape from the police.


End file.
